Overstock returns to profit in 4Q, shares jump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Overstock.com Inc. returned to a profit in the fourth quarter from a loss a year ago as buyers spent more per order.

Shares of the Salt Lake City-based company rose $1.15, or 7.5 percent, to close at $16.50 Thursday. The stock has more than doubled over the past 12 months.

The online discount retailer reported net income of $8.7 million, or 37 cents per share, for the three-month period ended Dec. 31. It lost $3.4 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same period the year before.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $342 million, from $314 million, as customers' average order size increased. Overstock said it had fewer customer orders, however.

For all of 2012, Overstock posted a profit of $14.7 million from a loss of $19.4 million the year before.